Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-12-14-Speech-4-010"
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"en.20061214.3.4-010"2
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".
Madam President, I am grateful for the opportunity to debate the biomass action plan and biofuels together with the Green Paper, because all the measures for the promotion of biomass and biofuels at least meet the Green Paper’s objectives – competitiveness, sustainability and security of supply – even if not completely. That is important, because even today 50% of all renewable energies – around 4% of Europe’s total energy requirement – are produced by biomass. I am grateful to the Commissioner. 2006 was the year of plans, I hope 2007 will be the year of political implementation. We look forward to the proposals you intend to present on 10 January for translating these action programmes and green papers into action, because we are convinced that we cannot omit any measure that will help to improve the European Union’s security of supply.
At present, biomass is a sleeping giant. There is tremendous potential – only 1.6 out of a potential 97.4 million hectares are being used for energy crops in the European Union today. We produce 90% of biomass ourselves and import 10%. But we see that major producer countries like Brazil and recently – for two years now – also the US are pursuing a deliberate strategy for the production of biofuels from their own cultivation. I think it is phenomenal that in a space of only two years the US has managed to go from virtually zero to 19 million tonnes of biofuels. That ought to be an incentive for us, too, so far as we are able, including in the context of alternative use. No one wants to make it more difficult to produce high-quality food by going all out for energy, through excessive subsidies, for example. We must keep the two in balance. But there are opportunities. That is why the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, which was the lead committee, adopted my draft report to a very large extent. It is rare to end with a unanimous vote. That is why we have so far as possible incorporated the concerns of individual groups in this report. It is nevertheless not over long, it has 81 paragraphs. It shows that we here in the European Parliament are very much agreed on the further use of biomass.
The Commission’s action plan describes the support measures and the priority areas correctly. We have no criticism of the action plan, but we have brought a number of aspects into our opinion which I believe will be adopted by a great majority at noon today, and we would ask you and your colleagues, Commissioner, to include these points raised by Parliament in your implementation strategy.
It is important in relation to both blocks that we use every potential that biomass has to offer – a lot is still going unused, from wood to fast growing plants – that at the second level we also ensure that modern technologies are used – second-generation biofuels, for example – and that on the other hand we work to see that everything is done firstly to ensure that the use of biofuels is technologically neutral and secondly that use is made of the existing development potential.
Two weeks ago, I was talking to a prominent representative of the European motor industry, who told me: irrespective of the compulsory admixture of biofuels and the targets of 5.75% by 2012, if we get the green light, if the regulatory conditions are right and the technical standards are adapted, if we are given freedom of action, then we are ready to join with the industry in investing billions and not just to aim for a 5.57% target. The European motor industry believes it is feasible to reach 15% within 10 years if the investment is secure. That is our approach, to do everything we can.
I would like to expressly thank everyone who has worked on this. I would like to thank the other committees. 187 amendments were tabled and 122 amendments in the opinions, it was a good debate with all colleagues. Now we still have a couple of separate votes, the report still has to be tidied up in the vote. But over all we can be satisfied, thank you very much! I hope the Commission will take from Parliament its instructions for further action."@en1
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